PERSONAL STORIES

Mary - Wessex MS Therapy Centre

Mary was diagnosed with MS in 2001 while working in a busy kitchen and raising a young family. 

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I was out walking and my right leg suddenly stopped working. It came back after about half an hour. I went to the doctor about it and mentioned a few other symptoms I was having. 

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Getting the MS diagnosis felt bizarre. It was my eldest son’s 19th birthday and I was about to start my MS journey. I was upset at first but then I had a talk with myself and thought, well at least it’s not cancer, I can deal with this. 

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I was working in a hotel kitchen and I had an accident with a large pan of soup and burned myself. I lost confidence after that and gave up working. I had a major relapse in 2016 that took me three months to recover from. My legs were pretty much gone after that and I’ve been on a mobility scooter ever since. 

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The loss of mobility has been the biggest impact for me. I miss not being able to walk around and do things like gardening, but I can still do most things from my scooter. It doesn’t stop me from still having a giggle with an old school friend. There are ways of doing most things if you remain positive. I still go swimming every week and have even done 3 parachute jumps and been zip lining!

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My youngest child was only 1 when I was diagnosed. I have three other children – they had to grow up pretty quickly and I think my MS has made them more empathic. They certainly like the blue badge for parking!

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I’m really lucky to have lots of good people around me. I’ve been visiting the Wessex MS Therapy Centre regularly for many years and I love it. I feel very lucky in lots of ways and I’m good at keeping my spirits up.